It’s been nine years since Jean Smith learned the devastating and life-changing news that her son, Mark, had died.
More traumatic than losing him was the manner in which he died – one of seven tragically killed in the Croydon tram crash.
“It just bugs me a little bit that there are all those people that get on the tram every day and they haven’t got a clue what happened,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) ahead of the ninth anniversary.
Mark, 35, from South Croydon, boarded the New Addington to Wimbledon service on November 9, 2016.
Of the 69 passengers on board, seven were killed and 62 injured, 19 seriously, in what became the worst tram disaster in the UK since 1959.
The crash happened shortly after 6am as the tram approached a sharp bend near Sandilands tram stop.
The speed limit suddenly dropped from 50mph to 12mph, but the tram did not slow down significantly and overturned.
The crash resulted in the deaths of Dane Chinnery, 19, Philip Logan, 52, Philip Seary, 57, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, and Robert Huxley, 63, all from New Addington, and Donald Collett, 62, and Jean’s son Mark, who were both from Croydon.
Jean says she still struggles with the memories nine years on and chooses to visit the crash site every year rather than attend the larger public ceremony organised by Croydon Council, which is again taking place on Sunday.
Each year, she and her husband go to Sandilands to remember their beloved son.
Nowadays, Jean and her husband avoid travelling on the tram whenever possible. She said they only recently boarded one for the first time in years, but they never ride one that goes near the Sandilands junction.
As the years have passed, Jean feels many in Croydon are beginning to forget the day that shook the borough. Despite this, she remains positive.
“If it didn’t relate to you personally you would have got back on that tram and would have forgotten all about it because that’s life,” she said.
She added: “I have heard that some people who got on that tram that day and were hurt had no choice but to get back on. They had to get over their own fears, but we have a choice and don’t have to rely on it all the time.”
Jean still keeps in touch with some of the other families, though less often these days. She said the lead-up to each November is harder than the day itself, describing it as “a relief” once it passes.
Investigators later found the tram driver had likely lost awareness before the crash, possibly due to a brief episode of microsleeping, and criticised the lack of adequate signage warning of the sudden speed change. An inquest returned verdicts of accidental death for all seven victims, including Mark Smith.
In 2023, the driver Alfred Dorris was cleared of all charges at the Old Bailey following a lengthy legal process.
Jean said the inquest process left her feeling drained and disappointed, describing it as “mentally exhausting”.
The Smiths, along with the other victims’ families, spent countless hours in courtrooms across London, but Jean feels that all those years did not bring justice.
“Unless you are in a courtroom every single day like me and my husband were, you think the law will be about the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but I learnt in that courtroom that is not the case. Truth is very selective and barristers are very clever with how they put their point across.
“I try my hardest to put it to the back of my mind because I am not going to let it control the rest of my life, but I think about Mark every single day, we all do.”
Mark’s son Lucas is now ten, and Jean says he is growing into “a well-adjusted young man”. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “In the early days he was always asking questions about his dad, but he doesn’t much now.
“When you ask him about it he says, ‘I don’t want to talk about it, Nanny, because it upsets me’. Now he’s got some of his dad’s qualities and I hope he gets more of his dad’s qualities as he gets older.”
She said she keeps a box of documents from the inquest and court cases for him to read one day, so he can know the full story of what happened to his dad. Jean previously told the Croydon Advertiser how over 700 people came to Mark’s funeral, with both family and friends travelling from as far as America, Australia, Ireland and Lithuania.
Croydon Council will hold its official memorial service on Sunday, November 9 at 1pm in Market Square, New Addington.
The ceremony, led by Civic Mayor Richard Chatterjee, will include floral tributes, a period of silence and the laying of wreaths, with the borough’s Executive Mayor Jason Perry, emergency services and local residents in attendance.
Mayor Perry said: “Each year on November 9, we come together to remember those who lost their lives in the Sandilands tram derailment. It’s a moment to stand with the families and others affected by the tragic events of that day, and to reflect on the impact it had on our community.
“Nine years on, we continue to honour the memory of the seven residents who died. They remain in our thoughts.”
If you have been affected by the tram derailment, Croydon Talking Therapies (formerly IAPT) offers a range of psychological therapies to those aged 18 years and over, who are registered with a Croydon GP.
